Forget Me Not
by magistrate
Summary: The barriers between worlds are rent asunder, and scattered amongst the universes are three heros. The only question is... lost and alone, will they be able to protect the worlds? Final Fantasy Seven through Ten crossover. Spoilers abound. On hiatus.
1. Prologue/Chap. 1--Searches

The clock ticked away the seconds solemnly, too sharp a sound to echo, but too empty to fill the office. The man behind the desk had his head in his hands; his entire posture read defeat. Two others behind him were as silent as stone--hardly daring to breath, lest it upset some celestial god of luck, lest it turn the outcome out of their favor. The official seated at the console was hard at work, scouring the database for anything--any clue at all, to bring hope back into the room.  
  
Nothing was said. Nothing could be said. All of the people in the room knew the truth: this wasn't a search any more. It was a deathwatch.  
  
the seconds plodded along at a pace altogether too appropriate to the situation--each tick from the clock representing another painful lurch in the seated man's heart. _One...Two...Three...._  
  
The second hand struck twelve, and there was a soft, melodic chime. The official coughed uncomfortably, and pushed her chair back from the console. With a deft movement, she switched it off. "No results," she said crisply. "As of this moment; zero hundred hours on August Twenty-Third, 4085, SeeD ID 41269, Squall Leonhart, is declared missing, presumed to be dead. The appropriate information will be sent to Balamb Garden, along with our sincerest apologies."  
  
There was a muffled noise from the man at the desk. "You don't... have to say it like that."  
  
The woman's face softened slightly. "I can only imagine how you must feel, sir, but we've done all we can. By protocol we can't search for him beyond this point. I have no idea how to say this, but... I'm sorry." There was a pause as she gathered her coat. "If there's anything more I can do--within protocol, that is--please contact me."  
  
That said, the official walked out the door.  
  
Silence reined again. Finally, one of the standing men moved to place a hand on the shoulder of the one sitting down. "Are you all right?" he asked.  
  
"No," came the simple reply.  
  
"Look, man. Moping won't make anything get better. You've been putting off the facts for a month, now. It's time to accept it."  
  
The man slowly lifted his head from his hands. It surprised nobody to see that he had been crying. "I never should have done it. Never should have hired them. If I didn't, he--"  
  
"You really need to stop blaming yourself."  
  
"I can't help it!" The man spun around in the chair, facing his two friends. "Who am I _supposed_ to blame?"  
  
The third man grunted, and the second nodded. "Blame the Lunar Cry."  
  
The sitting man seemed to deflate. "It was his birthday tomorrow, right?"  
  
"Today."  
  
"Today? ...man, I lost track." He let loose a small sob. "I was going to tell him today. I didn't think that--that--"  
  
The door slid open, and a man in a simple white robe stepped through. "Sir?" he said, a bit ill at ease as he saw the man's condition. "...you have a meeting in fifteen minutes with the Paramagical Ordinance Council. Shall I tell them you'll be late, sir?"  
  
"He'll be there," said the man's friend, giving him a pointed, but not unsympathetic, glance. Turning, he patted the man on the shoulder and left the room.  
  
As the door slid shut, the aide turned to his superior. "What's wrong with the President?" he queried.  
  
The taller man shook his head. "His son just died," he said.  
  
  


--==//Forget Me Not\\==--  
  
  


  
  
"_Rikku!_ Ed ec dra _Aeon!_"  
  
Rikku looked up as her quarry appeared over the horizon, turning the sky a foreboding blue-black around it. "E caa ed!" she yelled back at her brother, tightening her gloves. She turned to the handful of monks who had accompanied her, and started calling out instructions in standard Spiran. "Watch out! It'll hit us with Demi first, and then it'll start using other magic. We have to hold on until the Nullifier can start working!"  
  
"Ed lusec!" caller her brother, and Rikku tensed. Her hand tightened around the bar that held the metal claws onto her fist--as if they would do any good against the monstrosity bearing down on them. Fingering the complex lock on an Al Bhed Potion on her belt, she adjusted the nozzle to spray across the entire group. It might be necessary.  
  
The Aeon closed swiftly, and within seconds the combined shouts of "Vena!" and "Fire!" were ripping through the air. Bullets rocketed towards their target, tearing bright red streaks in the sleek black hide. The Aeon checked it's momentum, soaring higher on its batlike wings. Raising an arm dangerously, it sent the expected Demi attack raging down on the assembled Al Bhed and ex-Yevonites below.  
  
Rikku flipped the seal on one of the potions, and the fine mist spread through the area, clotting wounds and seeping into the blood to re-energize the hunters. "Brother!' she called, glancing over to see him working on one of his machina. He was bent over double, trying to coax the thousand-year-old device to function properly. He was sweating from the stress and the hot Sanubia sun, but he seemed to almost have the Nullifier up and running.  
  
With a flash of golden light, the Aeon fell to the ground. Landing roughly on its thin legs, both its hands his the sand as the burning yellow eyes stared at the party. A thin hiss escaped from between equally thin teeth, and it lunged at the nearest member of the party only to be repelled by the gunfire. With a last roar, it surrendered itself to dissolution.  
  
The party stood, looking at each other nervously. Long moments passed, and they began to realize that there was no immediate attack coming to follow the Aeon's unexpected disappearance. Finally, one of the ex-Yevonites spat and buried the blade of his bayonet in the sand.  
  
"It seems a bit too easy," he said cynically.  
  
"Everything is easy if we work together!" Rikku asserted. "See?"  
  
A figure, clad in a simple green dress, emerged from between two of the guards. "I don't understand...." Shelinda began. "I always believed that Aeons were benevolent."  
  
  
"We used to believe Yevon was, too," one of the guards shot back. Shelinda bowed her head.  
  
One of the Al Bhed rattled off something in his language, and Rikku translated. "He says that anyone can become an Aeon after they die. So, really, if the person doesn't like us then neither will the Aeon. Yevon only kept the friendly ones in the Temples."  
  
"...I... I guess so, but...."  
  
"Yeah, who cares? Are there any more of those evil Aeons out here? I want to head home."  
  
Rikku shrugged. Brother thought for a moment, then said "We, to Home go," in broken Spiran. Rikku nodded.  
  
"Right!"  
  
Brother started off towards the new site for Home, an oasis location still heavily under construction. Near the back of the group, a pair fell behind to give another glance around the landscape. One of them nudged the other lightly in the side with his elbow.  
  
"Take a look at that, eh? An evil Aeon. Things just keep getting weirder around Spira, ya?"  
  
"I suppose so," came the soft reply.  
  
A sigh. "You can't keep on like this forever, ya know, Yuna? Pretty soon, you'll be all worn out. Then what am I supposed to do? I'd make a pretty sad Guardian, that's for sure."  
  
Yuna managed a smile. "I'm glad you came with me to help Rikku, Wakka."  
  
"Aaah. No problem! I'm just worried that you might get yourself into trouble, with all your Aeons getting Sent an' all."  
  
"It's no trouble, really... especially with Rikku and her friends around." Yuna's voice was distant.  
  
Wakka sighed again. "Ya know, Lulu still thinks you need to let him go."  
  
Yuna rounded on him. "No!' she protested. "I can't forget him."  
  
"Hey, I didn't say you needed to forget him, ya? Just let him go. Looking for him... it's like the needle in the chocobo barn, ya know? All I'm saying is... maybe it's time to move on."  
  
Yuna shook her head. "I don't know," she said.  
  
"Hmm," Wakka said. "I'm heading back to Home. Don't spend too much time here, okay? There are still Fiends around."  
  
"I won't," Yuna agreed. Wakka gave the dunes a last glance, making sure there weren't any fiends in the immediate vicinity, and turned to catch up with the rest of the group.  
  
As he left, he could hear a clear whistle cut through the landscape. There was a heavy pause, and then the sound of light footsteps in the sand, following him Home.


	2. Awakenings

--- - 2 - ---  


  
The light broke over the Nibel Mountains in a thin stream of yellow, casting spidery shadows across the landscape. Two pairs of eyes watched as the group below them approached, invisible to the travellers themselves. They noticed, but did not acknowledge, the presence of the cattish Cosmo tribesman--it was more the fact that he travelled with humans that put them on guard. As the group approached the pair waited, not needing to converse. Finally, a silent consensus was reached.  
  
The older Aicha tribesmember stretched languidly, rising to her feet. The party below stopped as they caught sight of her gaunt form, and the Cosmo seemed to be telling them something. The younger tribesman at her side, she loped down the mountain to meet them.  
  
_(Nothing but a cub,)_ she thought as she got a better look at the Cosmo. _(He carries the scent of life, though.)_  
  
"I am Nauri, Lifedancer of Aicha tribe," she said, voice cool and gravelly. "This one is Rhek,my trainee. We watch these mountains. Why do you seek the Aicha?"  
  
The Cosmo bared his throat, the traditional--if outdated--symbol of respect. "I am Nanaki, son of Seto," he responded. "I have come to seek the help of the Aicha."  
  
"And are these humans members of your Tribe?" Nauri asked. "Why do you bring them with you?"  
  
Nanaki was silent for some time. "They are not of my Tribe," he said, "but they have served the Planet. It is for them I come. They have a favor to ask of the Lifedancers."  
  
Rhek slipped up to one of them quietly, inhaling deeply. "This one carries the scent of death with him," he said softly, uncomfortable speaking directly to the Lifedancer.  
  
Nauri's tail flicked. "Yes. Death and _Mako_. The rest smell fine--fine, that is, for humans. Why does the Aicha want to help these humans, or even its Cosmo brethren?" her question was addressed to Rhek.  
  
Rhek sat down, scratching absently behind his ear with one paw. "...they are searching for the one we found?" he asked.  
  
Nauri gave out a yelp of anger, leaping to Rhek's side to cuff his ear. "No!" she growled. "Learn. Now!"  
  
A couple of the humans exchanged glances, but Nanaki's tense posture was enough to keep them silent. Nauri turned back to Nanaki, and blinked slowly.  
  
"Cosmo Tribe of Anshaki clan, be welcomed in the mountains of Aicha Tribe of Anshaki clan. You search for one that you've lost, and we do not search for one we've found. If they are one and the same, you are lucky. But because they are not, you may stay here until you find what it is you seek. Rhek, take them back to the Dens. I will watch the mountain."  
  
Rhek, still smarting from the cuffs Nauri had delivered, turned sullenly and lead the way back into the mountain. One of the humans began to make a smart remark, but a soft command from Nanaki silenced him. Behind them, Nauri was sniffing the wind. What the scents told her, no one could know.  
  


--- - - - ---  


  
_(Where am I...?)_  
  
It was dark. That was the only thing Squall could tell when he woke up. Dark--and quite cold. he was in the ruins of _something,_ the trouble was identifying what.  
  
There was a massive archway framed by the ruins of two shattered statues to his right, and only a broken pathway to his left. the place stunk--a smell halfway between a sulfuric tang and the stench of death and decay. The breeze came from the cracks in the walls, when it came at all. Through the cracks he could get glimpses of the outside world--mostly more ruins, as far as he could tell.  
  
Standing up slowly, he noticed that aside from bruises on his right hip and knee, he seemed unharmed. He still had his pack and his gunblade, and the monsters that he had been fighting weren't in attendance, so he was three points better off already.  
  
Still, it would have helped a lot if he knew, even roughly, where in the world he was.  
  
Footsteps sounded from somewhere in the ruins, and he glanced around. There was a man in yellow apparently making his rounds, a gun (unlike any design Squall had ever seen) held tightly in his hands. There was something odd about the man that wasn't quite placeable--an irregularity in the rhythm of the man's footsteps, a certain tilt of the head and forward gaze--that was vaguely unsettling.  
  
Making a conscious effort not to draw his gunblade, Squall started to move towards the man. "Hello?" he called.  
  
No response. The soldier's steps never faltered, and he never even so much as glanced up.  
  
_(...he must not have heard me,)_ Squall guessed. He tried again, somewhat louder. "Excuse me?"  
  
The man's mindless walking continued.  
  
Now Squall _did_ draw his gunblade. The man had rounded the corner on the path, and was walking straight towards him now. But his eyes seemed fixed on a point somewhere behind Squall, as if the SeeD was invisible to him. The trek continued, the uneven beat of his steps echoing emptily in the ruined hall.  
  
A similar pair of footsteps sounded from behind him, and Squall turned to see another armed man emerging from the archway. Cautiously, he stepped out of the path of the two converging men. If they wouldn't acknowledge him, they _had_ to acknowledge each other--  
  
The reaction was once he hadn't even considered.  
  
As soon as the two came within easy talking distance of each other, the first one shouldered his weapon and sent a tongue of flame leaping from the muzzle towards the other. The man dropped without a sound, eyes still unfocused. The first man lowered his weapon again, and continued moving toward the archway.  
  
He had dropped the man without a noise, without breaking stride, and without his eyes ever focusing on his opponent.  
  
Squall took a deep, silent breath. The man was human--_looked_ human, at least--but he didn't act like any human should. Even under the influence of magical status effects, no one would act with this kind of single-minded determination. This kind of... inhumanity.  
  
Stepping out onto the path, he sent a Scan spell at the man. The information that flowed into his mind was imcomprehensible--he couldn't make head or tail of it, it was so alien. He spent a moment, unsure of what to do.  
  
Gathering his resolve, he moved up behind the man and put a hand on his shoulder, hoping to make him turn around. Involuntarily, his entire arm spasmed--the man's flesh was as cold as dry ice. The pain seemed to numb the entire left half of his body--until the man turned and sent the same firey blast at him. He fell to th ground, gasping in pain.  
  
The man started walking--this time back toward where he had come from. Having been turned around, it seemed beyond his capacity to right his direction and resume his original course. By the time the pain had passed enough for Squall to consider moving, he was gone.  
  
Moving stiffly, Squall hauled himself into a sitting position. Pulling an X-Potion out of his belt, he popped the cork and downed the liquid. And, immediately, he felt something wrong. The healing fluid seemed to be tearing up his insides--pain washed through him again, and he fell to the ground.  
  
As he blacked out again, he could hear a faint thread of music from somewhere far away, thin, spectral voices floating along inside it....  
  
_Heeay-uui... lo gun aaurom...._


	3. Confusion

--- - 3 - ---  


  
The air was full of the fragrance of flowers, bringing thoughts of Aeris to mind. Wind drifted across him, ruffling his hair and cooling his skin. He could feel the sun on his face, and the song of birds wafted through the air to his ears.  
  
Birds, the crash of distant waves--and the sound of someone crying.  
  
Shaking his head to clear it, Cloud sat up. He had no idea where he was, but it seemed like a pleasant enough place. The source of the weeping was sitting a small distance away--a blue-clad girl, facing away from him. Awkwardly, putting aside his own confusion for the moment, he cleared his throat.  
  
The girl looked up sharply, then scrambled to her feet and turned to face him. Her face was streaked with tears that she didn't even try to conceal. She stared at him as if she had seen a ghost.  
  
Cloud glanced around. There was an old stone house nearby, but no one seemed to be around. "...are you all right?' he asked the girl gingerly.  
  
The girl collapsed, and her arms went to encircle a big cream-and-brown dog that Cloud hadn't noticed before. "Who... who are you?" she asked.  
  
"Cloud Strife, Ex--" he paused. "--Member of Avalanche," he finished softly. "You?"  
  
The dog let out a yip and a whine, and the girl began to stroke her companion's fur. "...Rinoa,' she answered. "Rinoa Heartilly."  
  
"Are you all right?' Cloud asked.  
  
Rinoa looked away, not answering. There was a voice from the direction of the house, calling her name, and she buried her face in the dog's fur, huddling down into a small ball. "I don't want to go back yet," she whimpered. "I don't want to talk to them again yet."  
  
Cloud sighed. "I'm sorry," he said, and started for the building.  
  
As if it had been scripted, a woman emerged from the door as he approached. Dressed in a long but plain black dress, she moved with a grace that was undeniable. She looked very sad--something bad must have happened recently, Cloud reasoned. she gave him a quizzical look, but said nothing.  
  
Excuse me," Cloud said as politely as he could. "Can you tell me where I am?"  
  
If the woman was surprised by either his presence or his inquiry, she didn't show it. "Centra," she said. "The Cape of Good Hope. Do you need help?"  
  
Cloud thought for a moment. "Where, again?" he asked. He had been all over the world, but he had never heard of this place.  
  
"The Orphanage at the Cape of Good Hope, Lower Centra," the woman explained. "My name is Edea--Edea Kramer. Are you lost?"  
  
Cloud was unsure how to respond. Yes, he was most definitely lost, but--  
  
"My name is Cloud," he said, brain still trying to wrap itself around this latest issue. "Do you have a map I could see?"  
  
"Yes," Edea said. "But first--was there a girl out there when you came through?"  
  
"Rinoa?' Cloud asked. "She said she didn't want to come back inside." There was something wrong, he knew; but he could tell that this wasn't the right time to ask about it.  
  
Edea sighed, motioning Cloud into the house and offering him a seat. "Please, wait here," she said. Without another word, she glided into the next room.  
  
Cloud glanced around the surroundings. They were shabby, true; but they had the look of someplace fashioned with a lot of love and a lot of time. It was the style that bothered him--he couldn't place the style as being from any region of the world. The closest he could come would be the Nibel mountains, but there was nowhere around Mt. Nibel that was nearly as fertile as the flower field outside. And the word "Centra...." it was a word that was entirely unfamiliar, but the woman had spouted it out as if it was common knowledge.  
  
Cloud was confused.  
  
The woman came in, a rolled up paper in her hands. Spreading it out on the table, she pointed to the west side of a continent near the southern end of the world. "This is the Cape of Good Hope," she said. "These are the ruins of the Good Hope Orphanage."  
  
Cloud stared. There were similarities, but... _this wasn't a world map._ He had never seen these continents before in his life.  
  
"Are you all right?" the woman asked, noticing his confusion.  
  
Cloud sat back. He thought for a moment. "...I must be more lost than I thought," was all he said.  
  
"I'm sorry," the woman said, re-rolling the map. "Do you need help?"  
  
"...no," Cloud answered. "But I could use a job. Do you want to hire a mercenary, by any chance?"  
  
Edea was giving him an odd look--like some of the ones Tifa used to give him when he said things he shouldn't have known. Then, she glanced away.  
  
"Are you a SeeD?" she asked.  
  
"...SeeD...?"  
  
Now Edea was staring at _him_, bewildered. "What mercenary group do you work for?" she asked.  
  
"Freelance. Ex-Soldier."  
  
"Soldier? For what country?" Edea leaned forward.  
  
Cloud's heart rate was accellerating. Whatever was going on, it wasn't right. "_Soldier._ I was in _Soldier._ I used to work for Shinra, but... events happened, and I left. I worked with Avalanche for a while, and when the Meteor threat was over and Shinra collapsed, I was out of a job. I don't know how I ended up here, but--"  
  
"Slow down. Please," Edea said. "Tell me about this Meteor."  
  
Cloud would have gibbered, if he could remember how to speak. As it was, he just set his head down and moaned.  
  
The woman sighed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pried. I don't have a job for a mercenary right now, but you're welcome to stay here. Only, please do not tell the girl outside that you're a mercenary. She might... take it badly."  
  
"...thank you," Cloud said weakly.  
  
"It's no trouble."  
  
"I'm sure I'm not insane." He didn't know what made him say it. And he had the urge to tack the words _this time_ onto the end of the sentence.  
  
"Hmm," the woman acknowledged, and left the room.  
  
And Cloud felt the irrational impulse to cry.


	4. The Unalive

--- - 4 - ---  


  
_(You're not the one to ask what to do, I know it. Hell, I'm not the one who should be asking! But it's not as if we have any great alternative, do we? Damn that boy. Not even an Aeon yet. And there he goes... as if he just loves it Out There too much to stay away. It's only going to breed trouble, believe you me.)  
  
(Hmm.)  
  
(That all you can say? Hmm? Thought I asked you to take care of the boy. I guess that contract kind of ran out, didn't it?)  
  
(Don't you see we have bigger matters to attend to?)  
  
(Yeah. I see that we're in for a world of hurt if he screws anything up more than it aleady is.)  
  
(That's not the point he was trying to make, Jecht.)  
  
(I can speak for myself, Braska. And as to the point I'm trying to make, I think Jecht's summed it up nicely.)  
  
(Auron... you can't be serious.)  
  
(Have you ever known me not to be?)  
  
(Hah! So what do you think we should do about it? That crybaby's not going to make things easy for us, that's for sure.)  
  
(We do nothing.)  
  
(What? what are you talking about! ...hey, don't you walk away from me! Auron!  
(...  
(...damn you....)  
  
(Heh. That's just the way he is, I suppose.)  
  
(Yeah. And it's going to mean hell for all of us, I bet.)_  
  


--- - - - ---  


  
There was something invigorating about waking up to the crisp mountain air, a skyline you did not know, and the sight of yet another race of sentient cats calmly discussing whether you should be allowed to live or die.  
  
Tidus sat bolt upright as soon as he realized where he was--or rather, where he wasn't. He _wasn't_ in the Farplane, that was for sure. nor was he on Mt. Gagazet, or even the bluffs overlooking "his" Zanarkand. In fact, the matter was debatable as to whether he was in Spira at all.  
  
One of the greying cat-people looked at him, and yawned a yawn displaying all of his remaining sharp teeth. "This discussion should have ended ages ago," he asserted. "He's an abomination to the cycle of death. He should be destroyed."  
  
"H--hey...!" was all Tidus managed to get out. He was heartily ignored.  
  
"You sound like a _Sha_, old one." said one of the browner cats. "He was born through the planet, so he is accepted. It matters little what he was _before_ that."  
  
"And why not let him have his say, if he's awake?" asked a voice, and the group of cats parted to allow the newcomer into the circle. The grey one snarled.  
  
"You're no Lifedancer yet, Rhek. You have no voice here."  
  
"Let him speak, old one. And I smell he's brought visitors. Where did you leave them, Rhek? Down on the bluffs?"  
  
Rhek looked around the group, then turned to the human. "They want to see the one who smells of dreaming," he said. "Nauri admitted them. They travel with a Cosmo tribesman. I am sorry, old one, but you can't kill him yet."  
  
The grey cat's ears flattened, and he spat and turned away. "Do what you will with him. If the Lifedancers say he lives, he lives."  
  
The one called Rhek trotted up to Tidus, and let loose a rumbling purr. "Be greeted to Aicha clan," he said, dipping his head slightly. "I am Rhek, student of the Lifedancer, Nauri. Who are you, and shall you come with me?"  
  
"...I'm Tidus," Tidus answered uncertainly. "Hey, where am I? What's going on?"  
  
Rhek shook his head. "That is not for me to say. Come see the Lifedancer's visitors."  
  
"Er... what's a Lifedancer?"  
  
Rhek blinked at him. "You will learn. Come see the Lifedancer's visitors."  
  
Tidus glanced around.  
  
"It is one way to avoid being eaten by Old Greyfur," Rhek suggested wryly.  
  
"Why don't I go see the Lifedancer's visitors," Tidus said, face becoming a shade paler.  
  
Rhek smiled and turned, padding away towards one of the many mountain paths that lead away from the bluffs. Tidus followed, glancing at the rest of the cat-people who sat, eyeing him curiously. There were a few muffled murmuring as he passed, and he tried to smile them off.  
  
_(...whoa!)_  
  
Rounding a bend, he abruptly came face-to-face with someone who might have been Auron's younger brother--the same concealed face, the same brooding expression, and the same affinity for red. The exceptions were that this man's eyes glowed a menacing red, and the claws on his metal left hand mindlessly curled and uncurled slowly. the man met his stare silently, never once blinking.  
  
There was sigh from somewhere, and Tidus pried his eyes away from the man in red to see a brunette, rather pretty by most standards, shaking her head. "That's not him," she said sadly.  
  
"Uh...."  
  
"It was a thin hope," the man in red murmured, crossing his arms. He made an absent gesture with the real one. "What is your name?" he asked.  
  
"...Tidus," Tidus said, then decided to try his luck. "Star player of the Zanarkand Abes!"  
  
Looking around the group of people, he saw a broad range of confused expressions. He groaned.  
  
"I think he's lost," piped up one of the people, a thin girl with a shuriken strapped to her arm. Tidus couldn't have begun to tell her how right she was.  
  
"You must be lost to come into the Aicha territory unaware," said a voice, and the girl turned to see yet another of the catpeople coming up behind her. "Rhek, what have you learned?"  
  
Rhek wrinkled his nose. "That Nijil grey-fur dislikes the unalive, Nauri. Is that my lesson?"  
  
Nauri leapt forward and raised a paw as if to swipe him, then paused. Her nose winkled, and she slowly put down her paw. "Perhaps," she said. "You miss the true lesson, but you have realized it." she turned to Tidus, then to the man in red. "Do you want him?"  
  
The man in read looked towards the brunette, who sighed and turned to Tidus. "I'm Tifa Lockheart," she said. "We were looking for a friend of ours, but... we didn't find him."  
  
"Oh. ...bummer." There was a moment of awkward silence. "Hey, can you tell me where I am?"  
  
This is Aicha territory," an orange catperson said. "A human would know it as the Nibel Mountain Range, on the New Continent."  
  
Tidus scratched the side of his neck. "Does that mean I'm not in Spira any more?" he asked. "Not even in Zanarkand?"  
  
Blank stares all around.  
  
Two of the catpeople, Nauri and Rhek, engaged in a quick round of conversation. Tidus shook his head. "Look, I'm really lost. I don't suppose I could hang out with you guys until I figure out what's going on?"  
  
"It would not be the first time," intoned the man in red.  
  
"Nor the strangest," the orange catperson said wryly.  
  
Evveryone in the party turned to looked towards Tifa, who shrugged. "If you want to," was her only reply.  
  
Tidus was about to reply, when Nauri interrupted him "Good. Then your business with the Aicha-Anshaki is over.Goodbye, humans and Cosmo."  
  
Turning on her heel, Nauri stalked off to her post in the mountains. Rhek wrinkled his nose and followed her. The orange catperson smiled.  
  
"The Aicha are not so unwelcoming," he said.  
  
"Yeah, right," Tidus retorted. "One of them back there wanted to _eat_ me."  
  
There was a noise that could only be interpreted as a chuckle. "Their strange lifestyles make them behave in odd ways. They would have helped us, had we truly needed help."  
  
"We're not getting anything done here," Tifa said. "We should go."  
  
"Yeah." Tidus paused, realizing that he had forgotten something. "Er, who are you guys, anyway...?"


	5. Hunting

--- - 5 - ---  


  
"_Kaandu!_"  
  
The roar cut across the ruins, echoing across the deserted buildings. A black-furred youngling darted through the dangerous area, glancing back to make sure that his pursuer wasn't too close behind. Tail swishing through the stale air, he ran into the nearest building--the one at the very end of the pathway.  
  
_(Kihmari doesn't understand,)_ Kaandu thought to himself. _(Kaandu gonna be a Ronso Warrior, like Biran! No danger here... not for me!)_  
  
Balancing the "halberd" he had made out of a long branch, he pelted forward into the depths of the ruin. There had to be something here for a Ronso Warrior to fight. Anything at all....  
  
There was an earthshattering roar, hundreds of times more alarming than the calls of his adoptive brother behind him. Kaandu re-gripped his weapon, turning to see the giant form of a behemoth lumbering out of the shadows. The smell of rot accompanied it, and by the reddened teeth Kaandu could see that he had interrupted it in the middle of it's meal. Crouching into a fighting stance, Kaandu bared his own teeth.  
  
Before he had a chance to attack the monstrosity, a blue-furred form barreled out of the shadows and placed itself between Kaandu and the behemoth. Swinging his polearm in three graceful arcs, he severed the major arteries in the fiend's neck. The behemoth gave a huge moan, and fell.  
  
Kaandu dropped his weapon, ears flattening. "Kihmari!" he protested.  
  
The butt of Kihmari's halberd thumped on the ground. "We will go to Gagazet," he said firmly. "Kaandu should not be here."  
  
"Kaandu is Ronso Warrior," Kaandu said, placing a paw on his hip and gesturing emphatically with the other. "Biran was Ronso Warrior. Biran brought Kaandu a Behemoth claw. Biran can kill the behemoth, Kaandu can kill the behemoth!"  
  
"No!" Kimahri was adamant. "Still cub. Grow older."  
  
"Kihmari still young!" Kaandu argued. "Kihmari killed Sin!" His voice filled with respect. "Kihmari warrior."  
  
"Kihmari warrior because Kihmari live past _cubhood!_"  
  
Kaandu bared his teeth, and darted away into the shadows of the Dome. "Kaandu!" Kihmari yelled again, and ran after him.... again.  
  
This time he caught up with the cub quickly as he darted into the cover of a huge piece of debris to avoid the mechanical gait of one of the Defenders. Baring his teeth, Kaandu spat at the thing. "Hard stone. Not good hunting."  
  
Kihmari caught the cub's forearm, hauling him up into the air and watching him wriggle and hiss. "Bad place. _No_ good hunting."  
  
"Kaandu hunt! Kaandu hunt Behemoth!"  
  
Kihmari shook his head. "Kaandu go home."  
  
Kaandu twisted in Kihmari's grasp, dropping his stick and flailing. Suddenly he stopped, bright eyes fixing on something in the darkness. "Look!" he mouthed.  
  
Kihmari set him down, readjusting his grip on the halberd. Ronso did not lie--if Kaandu thought he saw something, he saw something.  
  
Kaandu dashed off into the darkness, toward a form lying still in the darkness. Kihmari followed,assuming that it would be one of the fallen monks--when tripped, they often lay still until someone found them, lacking the intelligence to rise. Even if they didn't move, they could still damage the unaware--cold flesh and Zombietouch combined to form a deadly trap.  
  
However, when Kihmari caught up to the more agile cub, he found not a Fallen Monk but a human--normal by most counts, except for the lingering Zombie ailment. There was the bottle of some kind of potion on the ground near him and a light magical-burn scar across one cheek, silent testament to the fate that had probably befallen him.  
  
"No good," Kaandu said, poking the figure with the end of his stick. "Hornless goatling."  
  
Kihmari growled. "Not goatling. Human."  
  
"Biran say humans goatlings."  
  
"Biran mistaken. Humans strong warriors. Cousins of Ronso."  
  
Kaandu shrugged. "Sleeping," he said, motioning to the figure. "Bad place to sleep."  
  
Kihmari gave a noncommittal motion with one paw. "Is Kaandu strong Ronso?"  
  
Kandu thumped his chest. "Kaandu very strong!"  
  
"Pick up human. Carry back to Gagazet."  
  
The younger Ronso's face fell. "But...."  
  
Kihmari gave in. "If Kaandu carries human, Kihmari will take Kaandu hunting in Calm Lands."  
  
Kaandu brightened immediately. Dropping his stick, he gathered the limp human figure into his arms--using all the care he would have had he been handling a sack of grain. Straightening up, he turned to Kihmari. "We go to Gagazet!" he said imperiously.  
  
Kihmari nodded and turned, keeping a sharp eye out for fiends along the way.  
  


--- - - - ---  


  
_(The jewel glowed brightly in the darkness. Even here, I could see it. It was a jewel of crimson fire... of determination.  
(And it seems like I have one more enemy.)_  
  
The hulking mass loomed out of the semi-darkness into the semi-light, bathed in the lurid red glow that surrounded it. Something... it was always something that kept it from its sleep, far from its eternal rest. Reclining into the ethereal flow of energy and souls that surrounded it, it sent its mind skipping across the rips and tears of the fabric of the worlds.  
  
_(It is as I thought. He has travelled to Gaen.)_  
  
This was the point that would have been met with a sigh, if the being had had any need to either inhale or exhale. The essence of the greater cycle comforted the being, but did nothing to help the memory of its Task fade from its mind.  
  
_(Gaen.)_  
  
It would have to pursue him there, it thought--if only that matter wasn't impossible. Having eliminated one plan from the list of possibilities, it turned to the next one.  
  
_(I must prevent _others_ from pursuing him there.)_  
  
Contentment flooded through it. That was a good plan. Calmly, it began to re-weave the energy around it. One had to pass through here to pass to anywhere else... he would make this place untraverseable. All it would take was time.  
  
But in the meanwhile....  
  
_(The jewel glowed brightly in the darkness. Even here, I could see it. It was a jewel of crimson fire... of determination....)_


	6. Gaen

--- - 6 - ---  


  
_(Author's Note:  
Ahh, the eternal question. This is an FF Seven _through_ Ten crossover, right? So... where is FFIX? Nine _is_ between eight and ten, right? Right?  
Allow me to reassure you. my friends, FFIX will have a very crucual part in the story as the plot unravels. I'd take you there now, but it's a rather dull place at present.  
Actually, at this point you _have_ seen one FFIX character... you could try to figure out where, and who. Eheh... why, though? You'll soon see another.  
But, I guess that I could write a IX section... on request ^.~ )_  
  
  
  
The Centran landscape was unwelcoming at the best of times, and now--the middle of the hot season and ravaged by Cries--it was even more so. The rank smell of monster and decay wafted across the landscape whenever a breeze could stir the still air, and every step taken sent a plume of dust rising upwards. If there was a bright center to the world, this was the place farthest from it.  
  
Certainly not the setting one would expect for the death and probable burial ground of Squall Leonhart, the SeeD Commander... the Hero.  
  
Adjusting the glasses on the bridge of her nose, Quistis looked around her. There was no sight of any monster nearby, and no sounds disturbed the quiet except those which the SeeD party themselves were making. The sky was a daunting blue, not the red-orange of a Lunar Cry, and the place seemed very nondangerous at the moment. However, this was the region Squall had last been seen in--which testified to the existence of _something_. Something which, hopefully, they would be able to find.  
  
Quistis turned to the rest of the team--Nida, Zell, and a younger SeeD named Aeshka who had come from near the Esthar region. Each of them was eyeing the area with the same mix of feelings she was--apprehension, wariness, and a certain amount of bored surprise. There was far too little out here.  
  
"The last communications Squall's team sent back mentioned an overflow of monsters," Nida observed. "I know it's been a month, but shouldn't there at least be skeletons here or something if they're all dead?"  
  
"Maybe they migrated," Aeshka suggested. "Some species do."  
  
"Lunar cry. All types of species would be running around down here. And not all of them would move away--compared to the lunar surface, this place is a lush haven. Something would want to stay here," Nida said, kicking at a tiny weed with his boot.  
  
"Maybe whatever got Squall got them too," Zell said grimly.  
  
Quistis shook her head. "I don't want to think about that," she said. _(The fact that Squall was... killed... here is bad enough. I don't want to know that there's something capable of taking out him _and_ the monsters.)_  
  
"Hey, do you hear that?"  
  
Quistis glanced at Aeshka. "I didn't hear anything," she said.  
  
"It was a weird noise--like a Demi spell. Are you sure you didn't hear it?"  
  
"Are you sure you _did_?" Nida retorted.  
  
"Where was the noise?" Quistis asked, cutting off Nida with a look. Aeshka shook her head.  
  
"I couldn't place it," she said. "It might have been--"  
  
The noise came again, obviously louder. Everyone turned, scanning the small crevice from which it had come.  
  
"I'm assuming this means we investigate?" Nida asked.  
  
Quistis nodded. "Weapons ready, just in case," she said, skillfully unwrapping her chain whip from around her waist.  
  
"Just in case whatever it is _can't_ kill us in a hit if it wants to," Nida muttered, but readied his katana anyway.  
  
Progressing carefully, the party made slow progress over the landscape. They were soon rewarded for their search, however, when Nida stumbled--quite literally--over a figure lying sprawled out face-forward on the ground in the lea of a small ridge.  
  
The figure was apparently that of an old man--thin, greying hair spilled back from his receding hairline to scatter on his shoulders and half-bury a pair of strangely-shaped ears. The man was dressed in a strange black suit--halfway between a body suit and a coat of armor--and a stiff black cape lay over him, top edge disappearing into the raised collar and armored shoulders of the coat. He was breathing, but a quick check found him freezing to the touch.  
  
With a quick glance at Quistis, Nida rolled him over. "Are you all r--" he started, when a quick glance at the man's chest forced the words to be swallowed back into his stomach. The mam didn't _have _a chest in the most typical sense of the word--sharp protrusions bent across a massive cavity, from which a single red light gleamed menacingly. The air in front of the light and behind the riblike spikes warped and shimmered, radiating heat that seemed to be absorbed into the rest of the man's deathly chilled form.  
  
A faint glow emanated from behind the closed eyelids, and the face tensed for a moment. The lips underneath the man's beard moved for a moment as if to speak, then the man's face relaxed. Gingerly, Nida felt for the man's pulse. He didn't have one.  
  
"What do we do now?" Zell asked quietly. All eyes turned to Quistis.  
  
Quistis eyed the man, uncertain. On one hand, he might be a clue to what had happened here--on the other, he might be the thing that _caused_ what happened here. She considered the options for some time, wondering what the best response to the situation would be.  
  
"...we take him back to Garden," she said finally. "We'll leave him in the Infirmary under guard. Whenever he wakes up, we can ask him a few things."  
  
"Sounds passable," Aeshka said. Any idea who he is?"  
  
"None," Quistis said. "But I have a feeling that we--"  
  
The eyes opened. The chest cavity expanded, red orb glowing brightly. A ghastly white light spilled out of the pupilless orbs, bating the party in a sick radience. The mouth opened again, and the glow of the red died down,  
  
"Gaen," he whispered. "Answer me. Is this Gaen? _Is this Gaen?"_  
  
Quistis turned to Nida. Nida turned to Zell. Zell shrugged.  
  
"It is," Aeshka answered. The man's eyes dimmed and closed, and he nodded.  
  
"Thank you,' came out in a voice that was more air than words. "Thank you."  
  
"Gaen?" Nida whispered urgently. "What's he talking about?"  
  
Aeshka shrugged. "Gaen is the name of this world, according to ancient Grandidan mythology. I have no idea why he would ask for it, though--it hasn't been called by that ame for over six thousand years."  
  
"Six thousand?" Zell asked. Aeshka nodded.  
  
"Since the day of the first Lunar Cry, when the Grandidan empire collapsed," Aeshka answered.  
  
"So, what you're implying is...." Nida started, waiting for her to fill in the blank.  
  
"Absolutely nothing," Aeshka said, raising a hand to her chin. "The only things old enoguh to remember those days would either be a GF, or a Weapon. What does that tell _you?"_  
  
"Way too much," Nida muttered quietly.  
  
It was shaping up to be an interesting week....  



	7. Here There Be Dragons

--- - 7 - ---  


  
_(Author's Note:  
In response to the questions in the reviews thread....  
Eventually, all of the characters ARE going to come together. Not just yet, but sometime. FFIX is around here... it will come in about the time that all the characters form the other three universes come together. As to commitment, I tend to be very committed to stories for which I receive a good stream of replies. The only stories I've ever even temporarily abandoned are ones for which I've posted up about fifteen or so chapters and gotten no replies. So, yes, I think I'll be able to finish this one ;). Hyne/Yevon/other random deity knows that I've finished longer ones....)_  
  
"...to what, then, is the main energy of Man directed? It is towards no obvious goal--or, rather, such goals are temporary and transient. Instead, it is geared toward the nebulous objective of 'improving the human state,' which has no practical application outside that of human comfort."  
  
Nanaki was animatedly describing the principles of the Study of Planet Life, causing most of the members of the party to exchange glances and roll their eyes. The newcomer had certainly brought it upon himself--he had bother to _ask_. Soon he, like everyone else, would know never to ask a Cosmo tribesman about the Study of Planet Life unless they wanted their ears to be talked off.  
  
The newcomer--Tidus, or something to that effect--was making a gallant effort to act interested, but the sheer boredom of the topic won through. It was impossible to enjoy the Study unless one was in a comfortable room, reading about it with time granted to digest the information. Only an Amararchi could appreciate learning it all by ear.  
  
Nanaki has just launched into some tirade about the Greater Balance of something-or-other when he was approached from one side by Vincent. Nanaki trailed off just as he began to explain the Cycle of Life Energy, turning to look at the man in red. Tidus shot Vincent a thankful look, which he ignored.  
  
Vincent said nothing, merely holding out a hand. In his palm were three green marbles, slowly melting.  
  
"Ultima, Fire, and Restore," he said gravely. "Can Materia revert?"  
  
Nanaki's inhuman face grew grim. Leaning forward, he sniffed the materia uncertainly. His nose wrinkled, and he shook his head. "This is not reverting to Mako," he said. "It is _rotting._"  
  
"Rotting?"  
  
"Materia? Revert?" As usual, Tidus felt like everyone knew something that he didn't.  
  
"Materia is the highly condensed form of Life Energy," Nanaki explained absently. "It is the source of magic, as it is used by humans. I have neither seen nor heard of a time when it could rot."  
  
Tidus leaned over, touching one of the small green balls. It was strangely warm to the touch, and it left a tiny glowing droplet on the tip of his finger. "Weird," he said.  
  
"Yes. Most disturbing."  
  
"So... if all this... 'material' melts or whatever, does that mean you can't use magic any more?"  
  
"Materia," Vincent corrected.  
  
"It means that the Balance is being upset," Nanaki growled. "That the flow of Life Energy was not corrected by Shinra's defeat, and that an even _more_ abominable force is at work!"  
  
"Oh," Tidus answered lamely.  
  
"Grandfather," Nanaki muttered to himself. "Grandfather told me that even if we destroyed Shinra, even if we stopped Meteor, even if we shut down every reactor on the Planet, it was still doomed. But how? _How?"_  
  
Vincent stood up. "Most of the materia is rotting, but some are still intact. A few are growing larger."  
  
"Larger?" Nanaki stood up, the hair on the back of his neck bristling and making him look quite a bit bigger. "Which ones?"  
  
"Bahamut," Vincent said. "Odin. Leviathan. Ifrit. Shiva. Alexander. Ramuh."  
  
"Only the summons?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Only those?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Nanaki grew silent, lost in thought. Finally, he looked up and said "Bring Bahamut to me."  
  
Vincent nodded, and moved off.  
  
"So what's the big deal with the Life Energy?" Tidus asked tactlessly. Nanaki shook his head.  
  
"If you did not learn while I explained it to you a moment ago, you will not learn now."  
  
Tidus winced and waited for Vincent to come back.  
  
Vincent returned shortly, carrying a small red marble. Nanaki took it between his teeth, and dropped it into an upturned paw. Closing his eyes, he murmured something in his native tongue and disappeared.  
  
The sky grew cloudy, shadows intertwining above the landscape and twisting upwards to peak at some point out of sight. There was a roar, and a dragon swept down out of the sky, wings snapping open as he fell. With infinite grace he righted himself, and--  
  
--_a massive dragon set foot upon the ground, and--  
  
--a massive dragon soared through the sky, and--_  
  
The universe twisted. That was the only way to describe it--what had heretofore been a nearly normal continuum bent across itself, bringing with it a sensation of being stretched too far across too many worlds. A kaleidoscope of images merged and separated, and then the universe snapped back into place. Nanaki reappeared, eyes wide and ears back.  
  
"What happened?" Tidus demanded. Nanaki shook his head.  
  
"I don't know," he said. "I don't know."  
  


--- - - - ---  


  
"_Bahamut!_"  
  
Yuna woke up with a start, staring at the flapping canvas walls of her tent. The noise of activity outside told her that is was still day--that she had slept in again. Staring at an indefinite spot just above the door flap, she touched a hand to her forehead. Sweat--it must have been some dream.  
  
There was the sound of rustling fabric, and she silently dropped her eyes. There they remained riveted--focused on the Fayth of Bahamut, who was sitting silently on foot of her bed, crying.


	8. Enigmatic Link

[center]--- - 8 - ---[/center]  
  
_(Author's Note:  
Hee... if you hate cliffhangers, NEVER read my FFVIII fic, Dark Legion. I'm sorry you have to suffer through these, too... or am I?  
Heh. It's magistrate company policy never (or at least, rarely) to end a chapter without a cliffhanger. Keeps readers interested. Right?  
  
PS--Sorry this chapter took so long. Yukky school stuff.)_  


  
Quistis walked along the halls, mentally reorganizing her GFs and magic. Officially it was against the rules to have GFs junctioned inside, but as there was no way to check anyone on that unless they actively summoned one, the rule was largely disobeyed. and even though Quistis was normally by-the-book, today she felt the need for a bit more protection. After all, today was the day she had to meet whoever--or _whatever_--it was that they had brought back from Centra.  
  
Selphie had decided to tag along, probably more out of a lack of anything better to do than a real desire to see what the man had to say for himself. Having not seen the man, she had no idea why Quistis would be so cautious about him.  
  
Doctor Kadowaki greeted them as they stepped into the infirmary, fishing a keycard out of her desk. "We put that man in confinement," she said. "I thought it would be safer for all parties."  
  
"I think that was wise," Quistis said. "Were you able to find out anything about him?"  
  
"Only what I think you could tell already. By all the medical laws I've ever studied, that man _should not _be alive. Even disregarding the lack of any noticeable heart, lungs or stomach--"  
  
"I see," Quistis answered, raising a hand to forestall Selphie's question. "Magic, maybe? Could he be animated, like the Blitzes?"  
  
"It's a possibility, but I wouldn't put too much store into it," Kadowaki said. "He's quite different from a Blitz, as well."  
  
"I see," Quistis said. "...I think I'll go check on him."  
  
"CSXX," Kadowaki said. "That's the code for the door."  
  
"CSXX?"  
  
"C as in Circle, S as in Square, and two X's as in Xenobiology."  
  
"Thanks," Quistis said, moving to the keypad and keying the sequence in. The door opened obediently, and Quistis stepped in.  
  
There was a gasp of astonishment from Selphie as she saw the man, and Quistis motioned to her to be quiet. "He's not human," she said unnecessarily.  
  
"I can tell," Selphie whispered.  
  
Moving to the strange man's side, Quistis stepped back as she saw those eyes again. She would _never_ get used to seeing those, so blank and dead--  
  
--the other thing she learned very abruptly was that, when a man had no pupils, it was very hard to tell if he was looking at you or not.  
  
A clawlike hand gripped her forearm, and she froze. "Gaen. Human," an empty, resonant voice intoned. "Five Gaen feet, six Gaen inches. Blue Mage. Correct?"  
  
Quistis was so startled she could only nod in verification. The grip on her arm tightened.  
  
"Then _why do you have Bahamut_?"  
  
Quistis blinked. "I junctioned him," she replied.  
  
"You are not a white mage!"  
  
"What...?"  
  
The head lolled to one side. "Gaen human. Five Gaen feet, one point five Gaen inches. ...classless."  
  
Selphie glanced at Quistis. Quistis glanced at Selphie. They both glanced at the stranger.  
  
"Who are you?" Quistis asked.  
  
There was a sigh. "Classless, and you have Leviathan, and two others I have never encountered. Why?"  
  
Selphie put her hand on her hip. "I took a lot of classes to be able to Junction GFs," she protested.  
  
There was a hissing sigh--it sounded as if something in his chest was decompressing. "Gaen is not as similar asd I had hoped," the unidentified man said,  
  
"Who are you?" Quistis demanded again. "If you're not from... Gaen... where _are_ you from? Why are you here?"  
  
The man's white eyes might have shifted. "My name is of no importance. I come from a place of dire straits, and I come to escape. However, I do not believe mere escape is an option for me."  
  
"What are you trying to say?" Quistis asked. "I'm not in the mood for word ga--"  
  
There was the strangest sensation--it was as if someone was trying to simultaniously junction and de-junction Bahamut to her. She stopped for a moment, stunned, and felt the world shift around her. Time slowed, into an infinite field of blue..........  
  
...Selphie jumped as Quistis's for distorted beside her. The man was saying something-- "_...the Planet. Incredible...._" --but she didn't stop to listen. Rushing at him, she readied a Fira spell in her mind.  
  
"What did you do? Where's Quisty?" she demanded.  
  
The thin voice spoke again, this time with a tint of synthesized wonder in it. "I pray she is safe," it said. "But I must speak to those knowledgable in this world. Else we shall never escape...."


	9. Red Sky at Morning

--- - 9 - ---  
  


_(Author's Note: Okay, okay, I'll relent. Here's FFIX--a few plot points changed for the sake of fanfic continuity. I'll make up a plausible explanation later....)_  
  
Zidane woke up with a pounding headache.  
  
That was about all he registered about the world for several long seconds--it wasn't until he heard a plaintive whining coming from off to his right that he tried to move.  
  
There was a dim red light leaking from somewhere far, far above--only enough to allow him to see vague shapes lurking in the gloom. His hand crept over the dirt floor, and he tensed as a loud grumble accompanied a rough shake of the ground and the world as he knew it around him.  
  
With a bit of a shock, his hand brushed against something metal in the darkness--a coat button. It was was surrounded by fabric, and the rough feel of it gave him a few clues. "Vivi?" he croaked in a rough whisper.  
  
Two luminous eyes opened, adding to the little light there was. "Zidane?" asked a small voice. "You're all right? Where are we?"  
  
"I don't know," Zidane answered. His throat was raw--it hurt to say anything, but he had to try. "I don't know where we are, or where anyone else is."  
  
Vivi looked around the place. "It's a cave," he said. "I can see everyone, but... but I'm not sure how they all are. None of them are moving." There was a sniffle, and the glowing eyes turned back to Zidane. "Do you think that they're--that they might have stopped--"  
  
"No!" Zidane burst. "They're not... dead."  
  
"I'm afraid," Vivi confessed. "I don't know where we are."  
  
There was the sound of someone shifting position in the darkness, and a voice rang out. "Stop whining."  
  
Amarant.  
  
"Hey, the guy's scared!" Zidane defended. "You don't need to pick on him."  
  
"We're never going to get out of here if we're all scared," Amarant said darkly. "If you want my help at all, you'll stop acting like a bunch of kids."  
  
"It's... all right, Zidane," Vivi managed, sounding definitely not _all right_. "I'll be okay."  
  
There was the sound of Amarant getting up, a few footsteps, and a loud _clangg!_ Amarant cursed.  
  
"That's Steiner," Vivi said.  
  
"Damn knight."  
  
"Vivi?"  
  
"Y-yes?"  
  
"Can you actually _see _in here?"  
  
The was a pause, and the glowing eyes bobbed in what Zidane had to assume was a nod. "Kinda."  
  
"Can you describe this place?"  
  
Vivi looked away, staring around. "It's big," he said. "I think it's a cave. There's dirt everywhere--the walls are made of dirt, and I can't see the ceiling very well--it's too high up. There are a lot of people, but not many are moving."  
  
"Is there anything else?" Amarant asked. "Where's that red coming from?"  
  
"The red light...." Vivi looked around again. "There's a crack in the ceiling. I can see clouds."  
  
"Clouds?" Zidane asked.  
  
"Yeah... red clouds." Vivi's hand crept out, latchign onto the hem of Zidane's vest. "And it's a red sky."  
  
"A red sky?" Zidane asked, worry beginning to gnaw at him.  
  
"Real red."  
  
There was movement from behind him, and Zidane turned to see--  
  
--another ambiguous form in the darkness.  
  
"Terra's sky is red," Mikoto whispered simply, those four words containing all the information they wanted--or didn't want--to know.  



End file.
